Quebec Women and Legislative Representation


Manon Tremblay

Women represent a slight majority of Quebec’s population, yet they continue to occupy a minority of seats in its National Assembly and in Canada’s House of Commons and Senate. To explain this situation, Manon Tremblay examines Quebec women’s political engagements from 1791 to the present. This innovative account not only documents the significant democratic deficit in Canada’s parliamentary systems, it also outlines strategies to improve women’s access to legislative representation in Canada and elsewhere.

Feminized Justice
The Toronto Women's Court, 1913-34

Amanda Glasbeek

In 1913, Toronto launched Canada’s first woman’s police court. The court was run by and for women, but was it a great achievement? This multifaceted portrait of the cases, defendants, and officials that graced its halls reveals a fundamental contradiction at the experiment’s core: the Toronto Women’s Police Court was both a site for feminist adaptations of justice and a court empowered to punish women.

Justice Bertha Wilson
One Woman's Difference

Kim Brooks

Bertha Wilson’s appointment to the Supreme Court of Canada in 1982 capped off a career of firsts. Wilson had been the first woman lawyer and partner at a prominent Toronto law firm and the first woman appointed to the Ontario Court of Appeal. Justice Bertha Wilson examines Wilson’s career through three distinct frames -- foundations, controversy, and reflections -- and a wide range of feminist perspectives. Taken together, these provocative essays paint a nuanced portrait of a complex, controversial woman who made a deep impression on the Canadian legal landscape.